Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2xdlg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-24T22:43:00.311Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sexual maturation and aging of adult male mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 November 2011

Z. Mendel ,
A. Protasov ,
P. Jasrotia ,
E.B. Silva ,
A. Zada  and
J.C. Franco
Z. Mendel*
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Volcani Center, ARO, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
A. Protasov
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Volcani Center, ARO, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
P. Jasrotia
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Volcani Center, ARO, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
E.B. Silva
Affiliation:
Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
A. Zada
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Volcani Center, ARO, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
J.C. Franco
Affiliation:
Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
*
*Author for correspondence Fax:+972-3-9682849 E-mail: zmendel@volcani.agri.gov.il
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The physiological age of adult males of seven mealybug species was measured in relation to the elongation of the male pair of the waxy caudal filaments. These filaments begin to emerge after eclosion and reached their maximum length from 29.4–46.6 h. The studied males were divided into three age groups, expressed as percentages of the total waxy caudal filaments length. Attraction to a sex pheromone source was significantly higher in the oldest male group (maximum filaments growth) compared with youngest one. Only the oldest male group copulated successfully; few of the younger males tested displayed 'courtship' behavior towards conspecific virgin females. The calculated duration of the sexually active phase of the adult male life cycle varied among species ranging from 34.4 to 46.6 h. There were marked variations in the strength of attraction to a pheromone source according to time of day. There was a continuous decrease in sexual activity from morning to evening. Our findings reveal clear maturation periods for adult males of the seven studied species. The long immature phase of the adult male mealybug is probably also related to several physiological processes that are needed to complete male maturation. The most noticeable change is the elongation of the waxy caudal filaments. However, mating may be performed at any time ambient conditions are suitable. Whereas male mealybug flight towards a pheromone source is restricted to a few hours, the male may continue mating activity throughout its sexually active period.

Keywords

sexual maturationadult malewax caudal filamentsmating activitysex pheromonemealybug
Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 102 , Issue 4 , August 2012 , pp. 385 - 394
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Afifi, S.A. (1968) Morphology and taxonomy of the adult males of the families Pseudococcidae and Eriococcidae (Homoptera: Coccoidea). Bulletin British Museum (Natural History) Entomology Supplement 13, 1–210.Google Scholar
Amarasekare, K.G., Chong, J.H., Epsky, N.D. & Mannion, C.M. (2008a) Effect of Temperature on the Life History of the Mealybug Paracoccus marginatus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 101, 1798–1804.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Amarasekare, K.G., Mannion, C.M., Osborne, L.S. & Epsky, N.D. (2008b) Life history of Paracoccus marginatus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on four host plant species under laboratory conditions. Environmental Entomology 37, 630–635.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blanckenhorn, W.U., Dixon, A.F.G., Fairbairn, D.J., Foellmer, M.W., Gibert, P., van der Linde, K., Meier, R., Nylin, S., Pitnick, S., Schoff, C., Signorelli, M., Teder, T. & Wiklund, C. (2007) Proximate causes of Rensch's rule: does sexual size dimorphism in arthropods result from sex differences in development time? The American Naturalist 169, 245–257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chong, J.H., Oetting, R.D. & Van Lersel, M.W. (2003) Temperature effects on the development, survival, and reproduction of the Madeira mealybug, Phenacoccus madeirensis Green (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), on chrysanthemum. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 96, 539–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chong, J.H., Roda, A.L. & Mannion, C.M. (2008) Life history of the mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), at constant temperatures. Environmental Entomology 37, 323–332.Google Scholar
Denno, R.F., Olmstead, K.L. & McCloud, E.S. (2008) Reproductive cost of flight capability: a comparison of life history traits in wing dimorphic planthoppers. Ecological Entomology 14, 31–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duelli, P. (1985) A new functional interpretation of the visual system of male scale insects (Coccida, Homoptera). Experientia 41, 1036.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunkelblum, E., Mendel, Z., Assael, F., Harel, M., Kerhoas, L. & Einhorn, J. (1993) Identification of the female sex pheromone of the Israeli pine bast scale, Matsucoccus josephi.Tetrahedron Letters 34, 2805–2808.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, G. (1999) Numerical methods and mathematical modeling: population growth. Mathematics and Computer Science Department, Emory University. Available online at http://www.mathcs.emory.edu/ccs/ccs215/model/model.html (accessed August 2010).Google Scholar
Franco, J.C., Russo, A., Suma, P., Silva, E.B. & Mendel, Z. (2001) Monitoring strategies of the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri, in citrus groves. Bollettino di Zoologia Agraria e di Bachicoltura 33, 297–303.Google Scholar
Franco, J.C., Gross, S., Silva, E.B., Suma, P., Russo, A. & Mendel, Z. (2004) Is mass-trapping a feasible management tactic of the citrus mealybug in citrus orchards? Anais do Instituto Superior de Agronomia 49, 353–367.Google Scholar
Franco, J.C., Zada, A. & Mendel, Z. (2009) Novel approaches for the management of mealybug pests. pp. 233–278in Ishaaya, I. & Horowitz, A.R.(Eds) Biorational Control: Application and Resistance Managements. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Springer.Google Scholar
Gray, H.E. (1954) The development of the citrus mealybug. Journal of Economic Entomology 47, 174–176.Google Scholar
Gullan, P.J. & Kosztarab, M. (1997) Adaptations in scale insects. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 42, 23–50.Google Scholar
Gullan, P. & Martin, J.H. (2003) Sternorrhyncha (jumping plant lice, whiteflies, aphids, and scale insects). pp. 1079–1089in Resh, V.H. & Cardé, R.T.(Eds) Encyclopedia of Insects. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Academic Press.Google Scholar
James, H.C. (1937) Sex ratios and the status of the male in pseudococcinae (Hem, Coccidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 28, 429–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jarosik, V. & Honek, A. (2007) Sexual differences in insect development time in relation to sexual size dimorphism. pp. 205–211in Fairbairn, D.J., Blanckenhorn, W.U. & Székely, T.(Eds) Sex, Size and Gender Roles: Evolutionary Studies of Sexual Size Dimorphism. NY, USA, Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kosztarab, M. & Kozár, F. (1988) Scale Insects of Central Europe. Dordrecht, The Netherlands, Dr W. Junk Publishers.Google Scholar
Marden, J.H. (2000) Variability in the size, composition, and function of insect flight muscles. Annual Review of Physiology 62, 157–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKenzie, H.L. (1967) Mealybugs of California with Taxonomy, Biology and Control of North American Species (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae). Berkeley, CA, USA, University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mendel, Z., Saphir, N. & Robison, D. (1990) Mass rearing of the Israeli pine bast scale Matsucoccus josephi, with notes on its biology and mating behavior. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 83, 523–537.Google Scholar
Misra, A.B. (1931) On the internal anatomy of the male lac insect, Laccifer lacca Kerr (Homoptera, Coccidae). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 101, 1359–1381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moreno, D.S., Fargerlund, J. & Ewart, W.H. (1984) Citrus mealybug (Homoptera, Pseudococcidae) – behavior of males in response to sex-pheromone in laboratory and field. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 77, 32–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakahata, T., Itagaki, N., Arai, T., Sugie, H. & Kuwahara, S. (2003) Synthesis of the sex pheromone of the citrus mealybug, Pseudococcus cryptus. Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry 67, 2627–2631.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nelson-Rees, W.A. (1961) Modification of the ovary of the mealy bug Planococcus citri (Risso), due to aging. Journal of Experimental Zoology 146, 85–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nur, U. (1962) Sperms, sperm bundles, and fertilization in a mealybug, Pseudococcus obscurus Essig. (Homoptera: Coccoidea). Journal of Morphology 111, 173–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitnick, S. & Markow, T.A. (1994) Large-male advantages associated with costs of sperm production in Drosophila hydei, a species with giant sperm. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 91, 9277–9281.Google Scholar
Pitnick, S., Markow, T.A. & Spicer, G.S. (1995) Delayed male maturity is a cost of producing large sperm in drosophila. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 92, 10614–10618.Google Scholar
Rotundo, G. & Tremblay, E. (1980) Evaluation of the daily rate of sex pheromone release by the females of two mealybug species (Homoptera, Coccoidea, Pseudococcidae). Bollettino del Laboratorio di Entomologia Agraria ‘Filippo Silvestri’ 37, 167–170.Google Scholar
Razak, T.A., Ananthi, D.V. & Jayanthi, R. (1994) Biology of the sugarcane mealybug, Dysmicoccus carens Williams (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae). Journal of Entomological Research 18, 169–174.Google Scholar
SAS Institute (2002) SAS/STAT User's Guide, Version 6.11. (2 vols). Cary, NC, USA, SAS Institute.Google Scholar
SAS Institute (2008) Statistical package, JMP Ver. 8.0.2, Cary, NC, USA, SAS Institute.Google Scholar
Silva, E.B., Mouco, J., Antunes, R., Mendel, Z. & Franco, J.C. (2009) Mate location and sexual maturity of adult male mealybugs: narrow window of opportunity in a short lifetime. International Organization for Biological Control/West Palaearctic Region Section Bulletin 41, 3–9.Google Scholar
Silva, E.B., Branco, M., Mendel, Z. & Franco, J.C.Mating behaviour and performance of two mealybug species (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Journal of Insect Behavior, submitted.Google Scholar
Thornhill, R. & Alcock, J. (1983) The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems. Cambridge, MA, USA, Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walton, V.M., Daane, K.M. & Pringle, K.L. (2004) Monitoring Planococcus ficus in South African vineyards with sex pheromone-baited traps. Crop Protection 23, 1089–1096.Google Scholar
Walton, V.M., Daane, K.M., Bentley, W.J., Millar, J.G., Larsen, T.E. & Malakar-Kuenen, R. (2006) Pheromone-based mating disruption of Planococcus ficus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in California vineyards. Journal of Economic Entomology 99, 1280–1290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waterworth, R.A., Wright, I.M. & Millar, J.G. (2011) Reproductive biology of three cosmopolitan mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) species, seudococcus longispinus, Pseudococcus viburni, and Planococcus ficus. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 104, 249–260.Google Scholar
Winsor, C.P. (1932) The Gompertz curve as a growth curve. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 18, 1–8.Google Scholar
Yakupoglu, C. & Atil, H. (2001) Comparison of growth curve models on broilers II. Comparison of models. Journal of Biological Sciences 1, 682–684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yan, J.Y. & Isman, M.B. (1986) Environmental factors limiting emergence and longevity of male California red scale (Homoptera: Diaspididae). Environmental Entomology 15, 971–975.Google Scholar
Zada, A., Dunkelblum, E., Assael, F., Harel, M., Cojocaru, M. & Mendel, Z. (2003) Sex pheromone of the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus in Israel: occurrence of a second component in mass-reared population. Journal of Chemical Ecology 29, 977–987.Google Scholar
Zada, A., Dunkelblum, E., Harel, M., Assael, F., Gross, S. & Mendel, Z. (2004) Sex pheromone of the citrus mealybug Planococcus citri: Synthesis and optimization of trap parameters. Journal of Chemical Ecology 97, 361–368.Google ScholarPubMed
Zada, A., Dunkelblum, E., Assael, F., Franco, J.C., Silva, E.B., Protasov, A. & Mendel, Z. (2008) Attraction of Planococcus ficus males to racemic and chiral pheromone baits: flight activity and bait longevity. Journal of Applied Entomology 132, 480–489.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, A. & Amalin, D. (2005) Sex pheromone of the female pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae): biological activity evaluation. Environmental Entomology 34, 264–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar